by Cheryl Harewood
Asha Jones’ professional journey has taken her across tourism, sales and marketing, gerontology and therapeutic recreation; fields that today come together in the work she is building through Living Legacy Wellness.
Following a profound personal loss in 2020, Asha began reflecting more deeply on the direction she wanted her life and career to take. That period led her to pursue studies in recreation management and gerontology, and also led her to gain professional experience in therapeutic recreation, with a desire to contribute meaningfully to the lives of older adults, particularly those living with dementia, cognitive changes, reduced mobility and other age-related challenges.
But her journey into therapeutic recreation was not an immediate departure from her previous career. After completing her studies and returning to Barbados, she continued working in tourism, sales and marketing before eventually deciding to bring her training, experience and growing passion for healthy ageing and dementia care to the forefront.
At the beginning of this year, she fully launched Living Legacy Wellness, a company created to support healthy ageing, dementia care, meaningful engagement and quality of life through a person-centred, whole-person approach.
Asha is also the only certified DementiAbility Trainer in the Caribbean, giving her a unique opportunity to help build dementia-care knowledge and capacity across the region.
Sitting down with Easy this past week, the former sales and marketing manager shared that volunteering continues to be an important part of her therapeutic recreation practice, allowing her to extend support to those who may otherwise be unable to access these services.
“The philosophy behind Living Legacy is that growing older or receiving a diagnosis of dementia should not mean losing access to purpose, choice and the activities that make life meaningful.
“Support begins with learning who the person is and then intentionally creating opportunities around their abilities, interests, history, routines and preferences.”
Through Living Legacy Wellness, Asha provides person-centred therapeutic recreation support for older adults, including persons living with dementia. She explains that she uses the word dementia because it is the umbrella term used to describe a range of conditions affecting cognitive function, of which Alzheimer’s disease is the most common.
She develops individualised opportunities for meaningful engagement based on each person’s needs, interests, skills and abilities.
Her approach uses recreation and meaningful activity to support the physical, emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual dimensions of wellness while creating opportunities for independence, choice, contribution and purpose. She also provides dementia education and practical strategies for families, caregivers, professionals and communities.
Technology also plays an important role in Asha’s approach.
Drawing on her professional experience in Toronto, where digital systems are used in recreation and long-term care to document participation and track engagement, she has brought a similar data-informed approach to Barbados.
Through Living Legacy Wellness, Asha worked with local software developer 3rdByte Software Solutions Inc. to create a customised digital system designed around her practice and the Barbadian context.
“Technology allows me to look beyond simply saying that someone had an activity today. I can look over time and ask: Are we supporting the whole person? Are there areas of wellness receiving less attention? That information helps me plan more intentionally and make adjustments based on the individual.”
For Asha, the locally developed system demonstrates how knowledge and experience gained abroad can be adapted to the Caribbean context. She hopes to eventually make the technology accessible to nursing homes and others caring for older adults.
Her training has positioned her well for this new chapter. She gained direct therapeutic recreation experience in long-term care in Toronto, Canada, including at Houses of Providence, Unity Health Toronto, and Nisbet Lodge Long-Term Care Home. Her training also included two 336-hour clinical placements – one in therapeutic recreation/activation and another providing therapeutic recreation support within a palliative and end-of-life care setting.
Asha earned first-class honours in recreation management in gerontology from George Brown College in Toronto, where she received the Dean’s Medal of Honour. She also holds a bachelor of science degree in hospitality and tourism management from The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus.
Her specialised training includes palliative care in dementia through the Alzheimer Society of Canada and the compassionate caregiver course through the Home Hospice Association of Canada.
At this stage in her career, Asha has found a way to bring together two areas that reflect both her passion and professional expertise – gerontology and tourism.
After more than a decade working across tourism, sales, and marketing, she sees an opportunity to combine that experience with her work in ageing and dementia through advocacy for dementia-inclusive tourism, helping the industry consider how destinations and experiences can better support persons living with dementia and the families and caregivers who travel with them.
“Barbados already has an excellent tourism product, with strong direct tourism services and a range of support services, including healthcare providers. By bringing these together and building greater dementia awareness, I believe Barbados has an opportunity to position itself as a dementia-inclusive destination where families can feel supported to continue travelling with a loved one living with early-stage dementia.”
She also draws on her professional background as a community educator and advocate, making conversations about ageing, dementia and living well more accessible.
“We often talk about caring for someone living with Alzheimer’s in terms of essential needs safety, meals, medication and personal care. While these are important, they are not all that matter in supporting the whole person.
“Therapeutic recreation asks us to go beyond ‘How do we care for this person?’ and also asks, ‘How do we help this person continue to live well?’
“It is not about simply keeping someone occupied. It is about creating meaningful opportunities for participation based on who that person is, what they enjoy and what they can still do. That may include music, gardening, art, reminiscence, movement, outings, faith-based experiences or simply reconnecting with familiar parts of community life.”
“Two people may have the same diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and require completely different approaches because they are two different people. A former teacher may enjoy reading, writing or discussing history, while someone who spent years gardening may find meaning in planting, watering or simply spending time among plants.
“The question is not only, ‘What has this person lost?’ Therapeutic recreation deliberately asks, ‘What can this person still do, and how can we support them to do it?’”
For Asha, this sometimes means taking therapeutic recreation beyond the walls of a person’s home or care environment, creating opportunities for clients to reconnect with familiar places, interests, experiences and community life.
Looking ahead, Asha plans to publish two activity books by year-end – one designed to support healthy ageing among seniors and another specifically tailored to persons living with dementia, providing meaningful and engaging activities.
She maintains: “Alzheimer’s may change how a person experiences the world, but it does not change their need to feel valued, connected and purposeful.
“A diagnosis may change the journey, but it should never define the person or diminish the value of the life they still have to live. Because beyond every diagnosis is a person, with feelings, emotions, experiences and a story to tell.”
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